Your PSN account will be migrating to the SEN account on February 8. As you can read from the statement below it’s a “Name change” only but who knows what else will change in the near future

On February 8, 2012, your “PlayStation®Network account” will be renamed a “Sony Entertainment Network account” or a “SEN account” in conjunction with Sony Computer Entertainment’s PlayStation®3 system software and PlayStation®Vita system software updates. (Note, this change will not be applied to the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system at this time.)
 
For general purposes, this account change is a change in name only. Your username or password will not change, nor are we asking you to change them. In accordance with this transition, some necessary naming changes will be made to the TOS and Privacy Policy.
 
This transition is based on Sony’s goal to enhance its unique digital entertainment offering. As a series of these activities Sony started last September, PlayStation®Network will be aligned with “Sony Entertainment Network.” This helps us get closer to our goal of establishing a global comprehensive network platform of services across games, movies, music and more, all accessible from one convenient account.
 
Thank you for your continued loyalty and support during this transition.
 
Sincerely,
The Sony Entertainment Network Team

Steve Appleton was working for Micron since 1983 and played a major role in the companies history and became CEO in 1994.

BOISE, Idaho, Feb. 3, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Appleton, Micron (Nasdaq:MU) Chairman and CEO, passed away this morning in a small plane accident in Boise. He was 51.
 
Our hearts go out to his wife, Dalynn, his children and his family during this tragic time.
 
Steve’s passion and energy left an indelible mark on Micron, the Idaho community and the technology industry at large.
 
The company expects to provide additional information later today.
 
Micron Technology, Inc., is one of the world’s leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions. Through its worldwide operations, Micron manufactures and markets a full range of DRAM, NAND and NOR flash memory, as well as other innovative memory technologies, packaging solutions and semiconductor systems for use in leading-edge computing, consumer, networking, embedded and mobile products. Micron’s common stock is traded on the NASDAQ under the MU symbol. To learn more about Micron Technology, Inc., visit www.micron.com.
 
The Micron Technology, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=6950
 
Micron and the Micron orbit logo are trademarks of Micron Technology, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

2KTV interviews Sheldon Carter, Seth Olshfski and Mathieu Bérubé about the characters of Vendettas in The Darkness II.

A tweet confirmed the release of the “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Creation Kit” on February 7. This Tuesday you will finally be able to start MODDING Skyrim to create your own content with the same tools used by “Bethesda Game Studios”.

For our Skyrim PC fans, the Creation Kit is on track for release on Tuesday. And, we also have a special surprise with it.

Features

• You can now evolve to Onos when your team has three hives.
• The Onos can toss marines with his Gore attack, smash structures and Stomp on the ground, sending a shockwave that disables marine structures for 5 seconds. Upgrades are no longer available, sentries stop firing, Infantry Portals stop spawning, etc.
• Added Prototype Lab and the ability to research and buy Jetpacks
• Added new map: ns2_mineshaft
• Added camera animation and display during count down phase.
• Name tags now appear over the head of nearby teammates.
• Added lines for rally points.
• Mines detonate when hit by Stomp.
• Added an option to enable mouse acceleration (off by default)
• Infestation is now displayed on minimap (dying infestation is indicated red)
• Added some missing Marine structure icons.

Balance

• Reduced Rifle butt range from 1.5 meters to 1 meter (now same as Skulk bite)
• Shotgun damage changed to Light (armor is twice as effective against it). Made it lighter to carry and increased the damage to compensate (# of shots vs. base Skulks, Lerks and Fades should unchanged, 1 extra pellet vs. Gorges). So Shotguns should become less effective against heavily armored targets. (thanks Schimmel!)
• Bile bomb range and splash increased a lot, damage decreased somewhat and energy cost decreased a little (trying to make Gorge less vulnerable on front lines and also more able to do at least some damage to entrenched Marines). He is NASTY now, watch out.
• Increased Hydra health from 500 to 600 and armor from 0 to 75.
• Increased Lerk Spike cost from 1.5 to 2.5. Changed distribution of Command Station health and armor so it’s more resistent vs. Light damage (ie, Lerk Spikes).
• Disabled res for kills to simplify the game, remove confusion about what happens when you make a kill, reduce end-game stalemates with 1 tower and to increase the strategic aspects of the game.
• Armory no longer required to drop med packs (unnecessarily restrictive during rushes)
• Lowered bile bomb damage from 300 to 225.
• Increased repair rate for Marines repairing each others’ armor from 18 to 35 (to make it less annoying and to allow Marines to sustain attacks better).
• Reverted Fade carapace armor buff from 50 to 30.
• Removed Lerk “hide” armor.
• Reduced Shotgun research time from 40 to 20 (it was 0 in NS1). Helps Marines get a foothold with early aggression.
• Increased minimum egg spawn time from 8 to 10 seconds to less that early Alien assault (now it’s the same as Marines)
• Lowered infantry portal build time from 10 seconds to 7, and Armory from 15 to 12 (to try to lessen effectiveness of Skulk rush)

ns2_tram

• Moved warehouse north.
• Removed north-east Warehouse entrance.
• Opened tram tunnel between Server and Warehouse.
• Reworked connecting corridors into Warehouse.
• Fixed drifter pathing issues between Server and Control.

Fixes

• Fixed bug where the Gorge Bile Bomb ability used the Spit ability icon.
• Fixed bug where the Gorge Mini Cyst ability used the Hydra ability icon.
• Fixed script error if a Hive was destroyed while the Gorge that built it as Commander was a rag doll.
• Cleaned up some Client console spam when a Fade blinks.
• Fixed script error caused by a spectating player receiving points by getting a kill with a structure placed when they were not a spectator.
• Added placeholder icons for the Shell and Veil.
• Fixed bug where the game would randomly lockup while placing a Cyst.
• Drifter spawn sound effect will no longer play at world origin.
• Fixed a bug that prevented Skulks from leaping at maximum speed.
• Fixed bug where the physics representations for the Armory and Infantry Portal did not match up with the visual model.
• Weapon secondary attacks can no longer occur at the same time as primary attacks while coming out of a sprint in some cases.
• Armory buy menu will not instantly appear once construction is completed.
• Adjusted Skulk wall walking smoothing rates so that that the 3rd person model rotates more quickly to match the 1st person model (especially while jumping)
• Health and Ammo packs can now be dropped directly on top of a Marine player.
• Restored reloading of script files when they change on disk.
• Fixed Whip ‘grenade whack’
• Bombard projectiles will not collide with the Whip and nearby friendly structures anymore and is created at the correct attach point.
• Alien player names for Hydra kills will no longer appear in blue text in the death message.
• Fixed a bug causing Mini Cysts placed by the Gorge to be disconnected when created even in cases where the ghost model indicated the connection was valid.
• Fixed bug causing dropped weapons to disappear too quickly if they were picked up and dropped again after initially being dropped.
• AI units cannot attack friendly players anymore unless FF is enabled.
• Fixed bug causing script error when a Cyst died due to not being connected to a Hive.
• Fixed crash when too many objects are visible.
• PhysX scene now supports mirrored geometry.
• Initial team starting locations chosen with a more random method.
• Mine will detect enemies more accurately.
• Slime effect during sprinting will not show up in thirdperson anymore.
• The ARC will prioritize other structures before Eggs and Cysts.
• Player turn poses (arms moving with feet planted on the ground) reset once the player starts moving.
• Fixed multi-threading crash when using the o_stats console command.
• The “getting ready to spawn” blue spin effect now disappears immediately upon the Infantry Portal being destroyed.
• Fixed bug where the Spore cloud would be created improperly when a Lerk was not moving.
• Fixed bug where connecting to the localhost would cause the game to go into an infinite loop.
• Fixed bug where Marines would spawn above the Infantry Portal platform.

Improvement

• Added “warp” console command to teleport to a position in space when cheats are on, “warp 0 0 0″ for example.
• Improved Skulk wall walking (sticks better to surfaces, thanks matso!)
• Skulks can now leap from mid-air, ala NS1.
• The “locate” Client console command will constantly display the local player’s location on the screen if “true” is given as a parameter.
• Added Mine icon for death messages (Thanks Saba!)
• Reformatted Scoreboard so more player names can fit on the screen at the same time.
• Server name is now displayed at the top of the Scoreboard.
• Improved ScenarioHandler (Thanks Matso!)

Sound

• Removed Bile Bomb hit sound when Gorge creates a structure.

Optimizations

• Optimized network fields in Structure, CloakableMixin, ScriptActor and PowerPoint (thanks Matso!)
• Reserve memory for faceSets (prevents excessive allocation)
• Reduced networked bandwidth for Camoflauge by eliminating an unnecessary network field (thanks Matso!)
• Reduced networked bandwidth for Skulks by eliminating wall walking network variables (thanks Matso!)
• Optimized Door auto-opening.
• Reduced number of cells CollisionGrid queries look through.
• Reduced network bandwidth required to send which fields of an Entity changed (uses indexing scheme when only a few fields changed and a bitmask when many changed)
• Reduced network bandwidth usage for entities that have energy.
• Reduced bandwidth for transmitting attachment points for entities by 26 bits.
• Reduced bandwidth for transmitting angles.
• Eliminated lastTimePlayerMoved networked field in Player.
• Mines require less processing time to check for nearby enemies.
• Reduced bandwidth by 20 bytes per second for each Entity sent to the client.
• Changed particle effects to only update if they were visible last frame.
• Slightly more aggressive compiler optimization options.

SDK

• Added Vector:Add method.
• Added Shared.SortEntitiesByDistance.
• Removed ProximityGrid.
• Added sphere query to CollisionGrid.
• Added EntityQueryManager (fast queries for entities within range, uses CollisionGrid)
• Exposed EntityQueryManager to Lua, started converting script to use new API.
• Added support to ObjectTagQueryManager for testing whether entity has a specific tag.
• Entities get tagged with their class name (and base class names). Tag is prefixed with ‘class:’.
• Added time network variable type.
• Added “private” network fields which are only sent to the client controlling the Entity.
• Added support for networking floating point values as fixed point (specified as float (<min> to <max> by <step>)
• Added Client.GetServerName() function to return the name of the server the client is connected to.
• Added Server.GetName() function to return the name of the server.
• Added Server.GetFrameRate() function to return the current tick rate of the server.
• Added Mersenne twister Randomizer class to Lua, same API as Lua random functions but better generator.

Patch 1.2 has finally been released for RAGE. Below you will find the full release notes.

New Functionality

Texture Detail: Enabling Texture Detail will improve up-close texture quality by performing upsampling with adaptive sharpening. This does not update or increase the resolution of the base textures included with the game but improves the perceived resolution and crispness of textures. This is an intensive operation and is only recommended if you have a quad-core CPU or higher. Please disable this feature if you encounter poor performance, stability issues or are given a notification that the game has run out of memory after loading a map. The Texture Detail option can be found in the Settings -> Video Menu.
 
Transcode Benchmark: A new benchmark has been added that determines how quickly texture data can be translated from the compressed format on your hard drive to a format that can be used by your video card. The higher your score, the faster your PC is able to make higher detail texture data available. This is not a traditional benchmark that runs through a scene of the game and returns a min/max/average framerate based on hardware and video settings. Other than the GPU Transcode option, the score will not be affected by changing any video settings. The Transcode Benchmark option can be found in the Settings -> Video Menu.
 
Error Messaging: If you attempt to apply video settings on a system that is not capable of handling them, an error may come up stating that your system ran out of memory. You will be allowed to continue, however, it is recommended that you either reduce your video settings until this message no longer occurs or you will be asked to restart the game with lower video settings. If you ignore this error and continue playing without altering your settings you will likely encounter texture corruption and/or system instability.
 
Automatic Video Settings Fallbacks: When an advanced video setting fails to apply, the setting may be set back to a safe default. Anti-aliasing will fall back to NONE if the allocation of a multi-sampled FBO fails. Texture Cache will fall back to SMALL when the allocation of a large texture cache fails. Texture Detail will fall back to OFF when large page table allocations fail. On failure these settings will automatically fall back to safe values without the need for user input.
 

Changes / Fixes

• Fixed crash from potentially having stale transcode jobs in flight when switching between texture cache sizes.
• Fixed crash from using SIMD optimized memcpy with a PBO pointer that is not 16-byte aligned.
• Fixed GPU transcode option always turning off when restarting the game.
• Fixed progression in Dead City where player could not advance through sliding door to en route to the defibrillator upgrade.
• Fixed CPU feature detection.
• Fixed issues with launching MP by using double quotes around path name.
• Fixed lack of texture detail on parts of the screen at high resolutions due to limited feedback analysis buffer.
• Fixed thread stack space usage and freed up 700 MB of virtual address space.
• Re-enabled UBOs.
• Adjustments to default VDM values for balance.

The Campaign Edition offers the full, unaltered RAGE single-player campaign, including the Wasteland sewer missions and the Anarchy Edition content (Double Barrel Shotgun, Rat Rod Buggy, Fists of RAGE, and Crimson Elite Armor) for the price of $39.99. The game is available now live on the Mac App Store, Aspyr Media’s GameAgent.com, and other Mac digital retailers.

Starting February 7, Ubisoft will be making the transitions for hosing of it’s online services to a new data center facility (no information given about the new facility) During the transitions some Ubisoft services and online games will not be available.
 
Ubisoft appolagizes for the inconvenience but states that

This move ultimately will help us improve the maintenance of our infrastructure and deliver better uptime and greatly improved services for our customers.

The following games will be affected by the transitions:

• ASSASSIN’S CREED ® – (MAC)
• Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X.® 2 – (PC)
• Might & Magic : Heroes VI – (PC)
• Splinter Cell Conviction® – (MAC)
• The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom™ – (PC)
• The Settlers ® – (MAC)

And the games listed below should be playable throughout the whole transition:

• Anno 2070™ – (PC)
• Assassin’s Creed® Revelations – (ONLIVE)
• Assassin’s Creed® Revelations – (PC)
• Assassin’s Creed® Revelations – (PS3)
• Assassin’s Creed® Revelations – (X360)
• Driver® San Francisco – (PC)
• Driver® San Francisco – (ONLIVE)
• Driver® San Francisco – (PS3)
• Driver® San Francisco – (X360)
• Just Dance ® 3 – (X360)
• The Settlers ® Online – (PC web-based)

There’s no information on how long the transition will take. Uplay PC will not be available during the transition.

This new gameplay trailer for Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City which takes a closer look at each of the members of the US Government Spec Ops squad and USS (Umbrella Security Service) and their specific skill sets.
 
All roads will lead to hell when Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City launches across Europe on March 23rd for PS3 and Xbox 360 with the PC version to follow.

In a tweet Dylan Cuthbert said that “PixelJunk Eden” will go live n steam today. The game will be available at “10am PST (or 3am JST)” so less that 14 hours to go.
 
PixelJunk Eden for the PC is a refined from the PSN version. The player-controlled Grimp will be able to warp back to the last spot he rested and you will be able to save your in-game progress from garden-to-garden.

Google has been found guilty by a French commercial court of abusing the dominant position of it’s Google Maps application. Google has been ordered by this court to pay a fine and damages to a French mapping company.
 
Google must pay 500,000 euros ($660,000) in damages and a 15,00 euro fine
 
The French mapping company provides the same services for a fee and it claimed that Google’s strategy was aimed at undercutting competitors by temporarily cutting the costs untill it gains control over the “mapping” market
 
The battle has been going on for two years and finally has it’s ruling. This is the first time Google has been convicted for it’s Google Maps application
 
A French Google spokesman said

We will appeal this decision

and that Google remains convinced that a free “high-quality” mapping tool is beneficial for the Internet, users and many websites. Google also claims that there’s still competition for both companies in the mapping market.

Feel like you were missing pieces of the zombie outbreak puzzle? Now it’s your chance to play the whole zombie outbreak through the eyes of the villain. Play through Ryder White’s story and understand the motivation and illness behind the acts of this military insane man.
 
Dead Island: Ryder White DLC can be bought from steam for 9,99€

The cars:

• 1993 Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evoluzione
• 2012 Maserati GranTurismo Stradale
• 1995 Lamborghini Diablo SV
• 2010 Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Superleggera
• 2010 Alfa Romeo 8C Competition
• 2005 Maserati MC12
• 2009 Pagani Zonda R

Each of the above vehicles has an unlockable kit, Signature and “Need For Speed Edition” as well. Each of the cars will be usable in “The Run”, Challenge series and Multiplayer modes.
 
Italy Unleashed and Italy vs. the World will feature new races that are certain to test your driving skills.
 
The Italian Edition Pack is available now for $6.99! Download it today on the PlayStation Store

Allot of internal settings, support and tweaks have been changed. I have updated the internal layout so future versions of the drivers can be updated and released quicker and more often. This is the first release for 2012 and I hope everybody will like them.
 
 

Some notes:

DNA AMD GFX CLEANER: The tool has been updated and will clean the system way better than the older versions. Be sure to run this before Installing the DNA-AMD-GFX drivers
 
DRIVERS: Took me a bit longer than expected. I wanted to include the “Intel Switchable Graphics drivers” but the package got to big. You can install the ”Intel Switchable Graphics drivers” after installing the DNA-AMD GFX drivers (reboot in-between needed!)
 

DNA-AMD-GFX 12.2.1-preview

• Based on the AMD Catalyst™ 12.2 Preview driver
• All AMD Radeon HD 7xxx series supported!
• Updated “ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2300″ support
• Updated “ATI Mobilty HD 5730″ support
• Added AMD Application Profiles 11.12 CAP3
• Tweaks redone OpenGL and Direct3D (still WIP)
• Support has been added. To see the support list please expand it below.
• Specific DX10 and DX11 settings (already in place still WIP)
• Removed OpenCL, didn’t install for me so it’s a no go for the package
• Separated 32 and 64 bit drivers/packages
• Updated Windows Vista/7/8 support (customized driver layout for each OS)

TODO:

• enhance per generation settings
• updated DX10 / DX11 only settings
• clean driver comments
• update internal support listing

So today is the day that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim higly antiipated 1.4 patch goes live. You should be able to download it from steam now.
 
Below you will find a full list of what to expect from the new patch. Besides the bug and quest fixes it will also adds launcher support for the Skyrim Workshop. PS3 and Xbox 360 users will have to wait till later this month for the 1.4 patch to arrive on their consoles
 
The changes impact all platforms unless noted.
 
NEW FEATURES

• Skyrim launcher support for Skyrim Workshop (PC)

BUG FIXES

• General optimizations for memory and performance
• Fixed occasional issue with armor and clothing not displaying properly when placed on mannequins in player’s house (PS3)
• Long term play optimizations for memory and performance (PS3)
• Improved compiler optimization settings (PC)
• Memory optimizations related to scripting
• Fixed issue with dangling scripts not properly clearing from memory
• Fixed crashes related to pathing and AI
• Fixed crash in “Haemar’s Shame” if player had already completed “A Daedra’s Best Friend”
• Fixed rare crash with loading saved games
• Fixed issue with accented characters not displaying properly at the end of a line
• Fixed issue where dragon priest masks would not render correctly
• Fixed issue where quests would incorrectly progress after reloading a save
• Fixed issues with placing and removing books from bookshelves in the player’s home
• Optimized bookshelf script in player-owned houses that would occasionally block other scripts from properly firing off
• Fixed issue where weapon racks and plaques would not work correctly in player’s house if player immediately visits their house before purchasing any upgrades
• Fixed issue where the player house in Windhelm would not clean up properly
• Fixed crash related to giant attacks and absorb spells
• Fixed issue with ash piles not cleaning up properly
• Fixed occasional issue where overwriting an existing save would fail
• Fixed memory crash with container menu
• Fixed infinite loop with bookshelves
• Fixed issue where transforming back to human from werewolf would occasionally fail
• Bows and daggers will display properly when placed on weapon racks
• Fixed occasional audio issue that would play sound effects louder than intended
• Fixed bug related to hitching between cell boundaries
• Master Criminal achievement/trophy unlocks properly in French, German, Spanish and Italian
• Fixed issue where traps in Shalidor’s Maze would not work properly in French, German, Spanish and Italian versions

QUEST FIXES

• The Unusual Gem that was inside the Thalmor Embassy is now accessible after finishing “Diplomatic Immunity”
• In “Breaching Security”, the quest token is no longer required to receive a fortune reading from Olava the Feeble
• Fixed issue where Galmar would not complete Joining the Stormcloaks properly if “Season Unending” was an active quest
• Fixed issue where starting “Season Unending” after finishing “Joining the Stormcloaks” would prevent “The Jagged Crown” from starting properly
• Fixed issue where progressing through “Message to Whiterun” while “Season Unending” was still open would block progression for both quests
• In “Arniel’s Endeavor”, fixed issue where a quest journal would trigger multiple times
• In “Forbidden Legend”, the amulet fragment can no longer disappear after player leaves a dungeon without taking it
• Fixed rare issue in “Forbidden Legend” where killing Mikrul Gauldurson while sneaking would make his corpse unaccessible
• In “The White Phial”, the phial can no longer disappear if player leaves dungeon without taking it
• “The White Phial” will now start properly if player already has a briar heart in their inventory
• Player can no longer get stuck in Misty Grove after completing “A Night to Remember”
• Fixed issue where leaving Riften during “A Chance Arrangement” would prevent quest from progressing
• In “Darkness Returns”, a door in Twilight Sepulcher will properly open if the player leaves the dungeon for an extended period of time before completing the quest
• In “Revealing the Unseen”, if the player leaves the Oculory for an extended period of time after placing the focusing crystal and returns, the quest will proceed correctly
• “Onmund’s Request” will now start properly if player has already found Enthir’s staff before receiving this quest
• Fixed instance where Tonilia would stop buying stolen items and also would not give Guild Leader Armor
• “Repairing the Phial” will start properly if player already has unmelting snow or mammoth tusk in their inventory
• Finding Pantea’s Flute before speaking with Pantea no longer prevents her quest from updating
• In “The Break of Dawn”, fixed rare instance where a quest object would spawn incorrectly on the Katariah during Hail Sithis
• Fixed rare issue in “The Mind of Madness” where player is unable to equip the Wabbajack
• Fixed issue in “Pieces of the Past” where Mehrunes Dagon’s Razor will not trigger properly if player leaves the cell for extended period of time before activating it
• “Blood’s Honor” will start properly if you visited and completed Driftshade and an extended period of time passes before starting the quest.
• Fixed rare issue where “Dampened Spirits” would not start properly
• Fixed issue where player would be unable to become Thane of Riften if they purchased a home first
• Fixed issue where killing guards in Cidhna Mine would block progression for “No One Escapes Cidhna Mine”
• Fixed numerous issues with “Blood on the Ice” not triggering properly
• In “Blood on the Ice”, Calixto can now be killed if player owns a house in Windhelm
• In “The Cure for Madness”, killing Cicero then resurrecting him no longer impedes quest progress
• Fixed rare issue in “To Kill an Empire” where an NPC would fail to die properly
• Clearing Knifepoint Ridge before starting “Boethiah’s Champion” no longer prevents quest from starting.

nVidia SLI

• Adds or updates SLI profiles for:
  • 7554
  • Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
  • Mass Effect 3
  • Oil Rush
  • Red Faction: Armageddon

3D Vision

• Adds support for 3D Vision windowed mode on DLP HDTVs and on Optimized for GeForce passive 3D monitors
• Adds or updates 3D Vision profiles for:
  • The Adventures of Tintin – rated Good
  • Afterfall: Insanity – rated Fair
  • Black Prophecy – rated Not Recommended
  • Chaos Online – rated Fair
  • Da Vinci Online – rated Fair
  • DotA 2 – rating upgraded to Fair
  • Dungeon and Dragons: Daggerdale – rated Fair
  • Ferrari Project – rated Not Recommended
  • The First Templar – rated Fair
  • Fractal – rated Excellent
  • FreeStyle 2 – rated Good
  • The Haunted Halls Reach – rated Excellent
  • King Arthur II – rated Not Recommended
  • Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning – rated Fair
  • Kong Fu Ying Xiong – rated Fair
  • Love Beat – rated Good
  • Marvel Super Hero Squad Online – rated Good
  • Microsoft Flight – rated Fair
  • Perpetuum – rated Fair
  • Post Apocalyptic Mayhem – rated Fair
  • Prototype 2 – rated Fair
  • Q.U.B.E. – rated Excellent
  • Quan Qiu Shi Ming – rated Excellent
  • rFactor 2 (mod mode) – rated Good
  • Saints Row: The Third – Rated Not Recommended
  • Shadow Company: Left for Dead – rated Not Recommended
  • Special Force – Rated Good
  • Tera – rated Good
  • Top Gun: Hard Lock – rated Not Recommended
  • Tropico 4 – rated Good
  • Worms Blast – rated Good

nVidia PhysX

• Updates PhysX System Software to 9.11.1111

HD Audio

• Updates HD Audio to version 1.3.12.0

Key Bug Fixes and Enhancements

• Fixes instances where the GeForce GTX 590 fan unnecessarily increased to 100%.
• Fixes instances of driver timeouts while simultaneously watching multiple videos.
• Adds edit/delete option for custom resolutions.

Other Details

• Supports multiple languages and APIs for GPU computing: CUDA C, CUDA C++, CUDA Fortran, OpenCL, DirectCompute, and Microsoft C++ AMP.
• Supports single GPU and nVidia SLI technology on DirectX 9, DirectX 10, DirectX 11, and OpenGL, including 3-way SLI, Quad SLI, and SLI support on SLI-certified Intel and AMD motherboards.

Downloads:

nVidia ForceWare 295.51 Beta Drivers – Windows XP (32bit)
nVidia ForceWare 295.51 Beta Drivers - Windows XP (64bit)
nVidia ForceWare 295.51 Beta Drivers - Windows Vista/7 (32bit)
nVidia ForceWare 295.51 Beta Drivers - Windows Vista/7 (64bit)

The Twisted Metal Multiplayer Beta will be released on PSN today with this beta you will be able to

• choose from 8 vehicles, each with their own unique special weapons.
• try 2 multiplayer modes: Classic free-for-all Death Match, and team-based Nuke mode—a Twisted take on Capture the Flag that’s brand new to the series.
• challenge yourself with Challenge mode, where you can practice with each vehicle to hone your destructive skills.

The Servers for the “Beta” will be up and running till the 7th of February so you got one whole week to try all 8 vehicles

At the end of march Bungie will stop the services related to Halo and 343 Industries will take over. This means that at March 31st all live data will be handled and processed by 343 Industries.
 
All future support and replacement functionality will be fully provided by Microsoft and 343 Industries “via Halo Waypoint at http://halo.xbox.com.”
 
Bungie will preserve the rights to all existing/historical Halo data on Bungie.net for as long as the Internet and Bungie’s data storgae systems remain functional (shouldn’t be a problem, I’m sure they have a Cortana like entity preserving it all)

Nemesis is back and you must work as a team if you’re going to stand a chance.

Check out the latest trailer for an exciting look at the voiceover cast in Mass Effect 3. Martin Sheen reprises his role as Illusive Man along with other fan favorites like Seth Green, Keith David, and Jennifer Hale. Jessica Chobot makes her in-game debut as Diana Allers, and Freddie Prinze Jr. is Shepard’s latest recruit, James Vega.

http://www.dragonagemovie.com 2012 is the Year of the Dragon, which is perfect timing for the release of Dragon Age: Dawn of the Seeker. To kick things off, we’re unveiling our brand new website www.dragonagemovie.com and behind-the-scenes Production Update. We here at FUNimation are so excited to be working with BioWare and Electronic Arts on this film. Site updates and behind-the-scenes info will be posted frequently, so check back often to learn about Cassandra, the Seekers, and the Dragon Age World.

Unlike it’s counter part the “AMD Radeon HD 7970″ the “AMD Radeon HD 7950″ should be available at this moment. Here are some review links. AMD hasn’t posted anything related to the 7950 on their own website as of yet!

here’s a quick table of the differences between the Radeon HD 7970 and the Radeon HD 7950

• anandtech.com – AMD Radeon HD 7950 Review Feat. Sapphire & XFX: Sewing Up The High-End Market
• tomshardware.com – AMD Radeon HD 7950 Review: Up Against GeForce GTX 580
• PureOverclock.com – Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 OC
• HotHardware.com – AMD Radeon HD 7950 Tahiti Pro DirectX 11 GPU Review
• Kitguru.net – HIS HD7950 Review

If you have any Review links that need to be added please let me know

It may have been 120 some years since he’s brushed his teeth, but Bryce Boltzmann demonstrates just what a lovely house guest he can be.

Get ready to battle terrifying demons with a vast array of weaponry and skills at your disposal in this exclusive sneak peak.

In a statement made on the EA forums it has been made clear that the “forums was defaced by a hacker”. The forums were taken offline while the issue was being investigated.
 
The vulnerability is believed to be fixed and EA has found no evidence that any personal data was compromised. You have to ask yourself why so much game-developers / publishers are being hacked. Have they really aroused such a response from the gaming audience that they think the website/forums need to be taken offline to make a statement? Or are these latest hacking attempts/intrusions just incidental?

Hello,
 
As some of you noticed the homepage of the forums was defaced by a hacker yesterday using a very new exploit for the software which runs the forums. This was noticed quickly and we took the action to
take the forums offline while we investigated the details.
 
This work is now complete and the vulnerability we believe was used has now been fixed.
 
There is no evidence that any personal data was compromised and as passwords aren’t stored in a recoverable manor, we are confident they remain secure.
 
Thank you for your patience whilst the forums were offline & we took the necessary steps to investigate this. If you have any concerns regarding the forums don’t hesitate to send me or the moderation team a PM to discuss further.
 
Thanks & Happy Posting,
 
Dan

As posted on the EA forums

In a new blog post “Steven Sinofsky” goes into depth on the “file management experience” and what has been changed since the developer preview. Aproxemately 2200 comments were made on the previous blog posts.
 
Most users were/are not happy with the “Windows 8 Explorer Ribbon” that first made it’s appearance in “Microsoft Office.” due to the feedback the “Windows 8 Explorer ribbon” will be minimized by default. According to Microsoft there will always be users that don’t like new features so Microsoft decided to minimize it by default because of the massive feedback it got on the “Windows 8 Explorer Ribbon” inclusion in Windows 8.
 
Windows 8 will also correctly read the “exif-header” from images so they will also show correctly. (if your camera sets them correctly)
 
Private folders wont have the locker image attached anymore as this caused a “120 miliseconds” delay

As we approach our next public milestone, we will begin to circle back to topics we covered in the blog and talk about the changes we’ve made to the product since the Developer Preview. As we’ve said often, we read the comments, newsgroup discussions, and reviews that have been written about Windows 8 and track the feedback carefully. We listen to this feedback by taking into account the source of the feedback and factoring in the intended audience for features as well as trying to reconcile conflicting feedback (no matter how many thumbs up votes there might be, we can promise that, for any design worth discussing, there are conflicting and equally valid points of view). Of course, we always consider the engineering feasibility of any changes we make—compatibility, security, performance, and so on.
 
Ilana Smith, a lead program manager on the Engineering System team, authored this post.
 
–Steven

For more information and all the changes please follow the source.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings features a thoroughly engrossing, mature storyline that defines a new standard for realistic,non-linear game narration. In addition to an epic story, the game features a complex combat system that uniquely combines deep tactical elements with dynamic action.
&
The CGI intro was created by Oscar nominee, animator Tomasz Baginski, and will be included in the Xbox 360 “adaptation”.

Discover Amalur! Explore a vast world of magic and mystery.

We play the first ten minutes from the first mission of Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City using our mighty Xbox 360 debug station.

Get the latest look at Mass Effect 3′s co-op multiplayer mode in the Special Forces trailer. Fight the war alongside your friends in four-player co-op missions. Choose from a variety of races and classes and combine your skills to overcome impossible odds. Your success can have an impact on the outcome of your single-player experience.

Check out the explosive new trailer for Aliens: Colonial Marines, exclusive to IGN! If the visual and atmospheric quality of the trailer is any indication, SEGA and Gearbox are on track to live to up the franchise’s rich history. It’s got enough action and cinematic flair to get your blood pumping, regardless of whether it’s human red or acid green. So watch the trailer then leave us a comment below telling us what you think!

The AMD Catalyst™ 12.2 Preview includes all of the features found in AMD Catalyst™ 12.1, plus additional fixes that are not included in the AMD Catalyst 12.1 release.

 
Please note that AMD Radeon HD 7900 users should keep using the 8.921.2 RC11 driver found here (the 12.2 preview does not supported the AMD Radeon HD 7900 Series): http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles/Pages/RC11Driver.aspx
 

Feature highlights of the AMD Catalyst™ 12.2 driver:

• AMD Eyefinity 2.1 technology enhancements
• Additional resolution support:   Users can now choose from a larger set of resolutions when running AMD Eyefinity
• Dynamic Configuration Changes:  Switching between different display configurations will occur automatically when physically plugging/un-plugging displays
• HydraVision™ enhancements:  The Windows Task bar can now be moved and resized based on users preference
• Profile Manager improvements:  Increased support for Display Groups (including 5×1) and Extended configurations within the Profile Manager

Improvements

AMD HD3D technology support enhancement

• Enables support for AMD HD3D technology in conjunction with AMD CrossFireX configurations
• Delivers a new Stereo 3D mode over HDMI 1.4a connections – 1080p at 30Hz is now enabled on supported displays

AMD Catalyst Control Center / Vision Engine Control Center enhancements – Application Profiles

• AMD Catalyst 12.1 Preview driver enables users to create per application profiles to individually control 3D and CrossFireX settings for Direct3D applications
• Please be sure to select the “Restore Factory Defaults” option under the Catalyst Control Center Preferences menu before using the new application profiles feature – this ensures there are no compatibility issues between previous drivers and the new AMD Catalyst 12.1 Preview driver with regards to application profiles

AMD Catalyst Control Center / Vision Engine Control Center enhancements – Video UI improvements

• AMD Catalyst 12.1 Preview driver includes user interface enhancements to simply adjustment of video color and video quality controls

Resolved issues

Windows 7 Operating System

• The in-game mouse cursor no longer randomly disappears while playing Alien vs Predator.
• Enemy Territory – Quake Ware will no longer experience intermittent crashes when in a 3 monitor Eyefinity configuration.
• Water texture is now rendered correctly in Enemy Territory – Quake Wars
• Dirt 2 does not exhibit stuttering when run in DirectX 9 mode.
• Playing Crysis 2 with in Crossfire mode no longer experiences random graphics corruption or game instability.
• Random corruption and screen flicker is no longer observed while playing Dragon Age 2 with Tri-Crossfire enabled.
• Lost Planet 2 no longer crashes after game launch when run in Crossfire mode.
• Lost Planet 2 and Tom Clancy HAWX2 no longer experience random game hangs/black screens when run at high in game settings.
• Water textures in World of Warcraft running in DirectX 9 mode no longer appear corrupted.
• The game “Rage” no longer experiences intermittent hangs when Crossfire is enabled.

Windows Vista Operating System

• Ejecting the disc during Blu-Ray/DVD playback using WinDVD no longer causes the system to crash.
• 3D content playback using PowerDVD now correctly used hardware acceleration.
• Poor performance is no longer randomly experience when playing World of Warcraft, Metro 2033 and Starcraft II at high in-game settings.
• Medal of Honor now correctly displays all in game settings.

Known issues

Windows 7 operating system

• Call of Duty 4 may experience corruption when run in DirectX 9 mode and the Edge Detect filter is enabled.
• Portal 2 may generate a black screen when launched in 3D stereo mode.
• The Morphological filter settings may be missing in the Vision Control Center.
• Civilization V may experience random game crashes.
• Forced Anti-Aliasing may not be available when playing Enemy Territory – Quake Wars.
• Call of Duty – Black Ops may experience a crash when run in Crossfire mode.
• Battlefield 3 may crash when run at ultra settings.
• Vsync may be disabled after task switching when playing Rage.
• Launching Rage with Crossfire enabled may cause the application to hang.
• Random flickering may be observed while playing Battlefield- Bad Company 2.
• Saints Row III may hang randomly during gameplay.
• Dragons Age 2 may experience random flickering when run in Tri Crossfire mode with Vsync enabled or when run in DirectX 9 mode.
• Call of Duty – Modern Warfare 3 may experience flickering when run in Tri Crossfire mode.

Windows Vista Operating System

• Windows Aero options may be missing after installing the latest driver.

Windows XP Operating System

• The mouse cursor may get corrupted if the “enable pointer shadow” option is unchecked.

Downloads:

AMD Catalyst 12.2 Preview – Windows Vista/7 (32bit)
AMD Catalyst 12.2 Preview – Windows Vista/7 (64bit)
AMD CrossFireX Application Profiles

Improvements

AMD HD3D technology support enhancement

• Enables support for AMD HD3D technology in conjunction with AMD CrossFireX configurations
• Delivers a new Stereo 3D mode over HDMI 1.4a connections – 1080p at 30Hz is now enabled on supported displays

AMD Catalyst Control Center / Vision Engine Control Center enhancements – Application Profiles

• AMD Catalyst 12.1 Preview driver enables users to create per application profiles to individually control 3D and CrossFireX settings for Direct3D applications
• Please be sure to select the “Restore Factory Defaults” option under the Catalyst Control Center Preferences menu before using the new application profiles feature – this ensures there are no compatibility issues between previous drivers and the new AMD Catalyst 12.1 Preview driver with regards to application profiles

AMD Catalyst Control Center / Vision Engine Control Center enhancements – Video UI improvements

• AMD Catalyst 12.1 Preview driver includes user interface enhancements to simply adjustment of video color and video quality controls

Resolved issues

Windows 7 Operating System

• The in-game mouse cursor no longer randomly disappears while playing Alien vs Predator.
• Enemy Territory – Quake Ware will no longer experience intermittent crashes when in a 3 monitor Eyefinity configuration.
• Water texture is now rendered correctly in Enemy Territory – Quake Wars
• Dirt 2 does not exhibit stuttering when run in DirectX 9 mode.
• Playing Crysis 2 with in Crossfire mode no longer experiences random graphics corruption or game instability.
• Random corruption and screen flicker is no longer observed while playing Dragon Age 2 with Tri-Crossfire enabled.
• Lost Planet 2 no longer crashes after game launch when run in Crossfire mode.
• Lost Planet 2 and Tom Clancy HAWX2 no longer experience random game hangs/black screens when run at high in game settings.
• Water textures in World of Warcraft running in DirectX 9 mode no longer appear corrupted.
• The game “Rage” no longer experiences intermittent hangs when Crossfire is enabled.

Windows Vista Operating System

• Ejecting the disc during Blu-Ray/DVD playback using WinDVD no longer causes the system to crash.
• 3D content playback using PowerDVD now correctly used hardware acceleration.
• Poor performance is no longer randomly experience when playing World of Warcraft, Metro 2033 and Starcraft II at high in-game settings.
• Medal of Honor now correctly displays all in game settings.

Known issues

Windows 7 operating system

• Call of Duty 4 may experience corruption when run in DirectX 9 mode and the Edge Detect filter is enabled.
• Portal 2 may generate a black screen when launched in 3D stereo mode.
• The Morphological filter settings may be missing in the Vision Control Center.
• Civilization V may experience random game crashes.
• Forced Anti-Aliasing may not be available when playing Enemy Territory – Quake Wars.
• Call of Duty – Black Ops may experience a crash when run in Crossfire mode.
• Battlefield 3 may crash when run at ultra settings.
• Vsync may be disabled after task switching when playing Rage.
• Launching Rage with Crossfire enabled may cause the application to hang.
• Random flickering may be observed while playing Battlefield- Bad Company 2.
• Saints Row III may hang randomly during gameplay.
• Dragons Age 2 may experience random flickering when run in Tri Crossfire mode with Vsync enabled or when run in DirectX 9 mode.
• Call of Duty – Modern Warfare 3 may experience flickering when run in Tri Crossfire mode.

Windows Vista Operating System

• Windows Aero options may be missing after installing the latest driver.

Windows XP Operating System

• The mouse cursor may get corrupted if the “enable pointer shadow” option is unchecked.

Downloads:

AMD Catalyst 12.1 – Windows XP (32bit)
AMD Catalyst 12.1 – Windows XP (64bit)
AMD Catalyst 12.1 – Windows Vista/7 (32bit)
AMD Catalyst 12.1 – Windows Vista/7 (64bit)
AMD Catalyst Mobility 12.1 – Windows Vista/7 (32bit)
AMD Catalyst Mobility 12.1 – Windows Vista/7 (64bit)
AMD CrossFireX Application Profiles

Call of Duty Elite drops 2 brand new map packs, Liberation and Piazza, to help celebrate the launch of the new online community.

Get on some quad-wielding and demon slaying action with the released demo of “The Darkness II”. You will be able to get a glimpse of jackie’s powerful abilities. You can get the DEMO from steam or via this direct link Download Demo (be sure steam is running when using this direct link)

Check out the official cinematic launch trailer for The Darkness II! Embrace The Darkness on February 7 in North America and February 10 internationally!
 
ESRB Rating M for MATURE: Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content

Craig Rechenmacher “VP Business Development And Marketing” at EA said that he’s very proud to announce 11 talented publishers and developers have been added to their lineup of game titles.
 
Rift from Trion is now available. Titles from CD PROJEKT RED, Freebird Games, Recoil Games, Autumn Games, 1C Company, inXile entertainment, Paradox Interactive, Core Learning Ltd. and N3V Games will be available on Origin in the coming months.
 
Seems like a good step in the right direction for EA Origin’s list of games.

EVGA EPower Board is a seperate VRM board that can provide additional power for several devices such as GFX card MOBO or other devices that may need a high-current low-voltage power source.

The device comes with DOA warranty only and is intended for advanced users that have electronics experience. As usual the device (when used) will void all warranty related to the device you’re using it on.

The EVGA EPower board is designed to operate with two voltage outputs:
VCORE output – Voltage adjustment range of 800mV to 2000mV. Current source up to 400A.
VDIMM output – Voltage adjustment range of 1000mV to 5000mV. Current source up to 80A.

Recommended Toolkit

• AWG12 or AWG10 Copper Wire with Insulation
• 60W or 80W Soldering Iron
• Digital Multimeter for Resistance and Voltage Checks
• EVGA EVBot with X58 Firmware
• 80 or 120mm +12V DC FAN with 3-pin header for VRM Cooling
• Flux and Solder for Wire Joints

Jump into an exciting war between the Winged Crusade and the Landians! Mecho Wars is a turn-based strategy game where you command your troops to expand, control, and conquer your enemies. Strategically position your troops as each type has its strengths and weaknesses.
 
The story of Mecho Wars details the rise of the Winged Crusade in the distant land of Divination Deserts. However, this is not your typical desert as there is plenty of water that separates land masses. Mecho Wars features a unique day-night cycle where water will freeze overnight allowing once inaccessible areas reachable in the early hours of the morning.
 
Included in the game is a rich story-driven single player campaign, a special set of individual challenge maps, and remarkable multiplayer support with a

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim uses Steam’s beta functionality to give users the ability to have a early look (test the still broken patch?) at the 1.4 Patch they are currently working on.
 
They don’t feel them selves responsible if it crashes your current game and advice to make a backup of all your current save-games or simply not to overwrite them while testing the unfinished and long awaited 1.4 Patch. If you decide to opt out of the beta program your old save games will still work with “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (v1.3 and 1.3.10 “Yes Bethesda we PC gamer’s are actually on 1.3.10″)
 
How can you get the beta 1.4 Patch just follow the following steps:

1. Log into Steam
2. Click on Steam in the upper menu
3. Select Settings
4. Under the Account tab, go to the Beta Participation section and select Change.
5. A drop down menu will appear. Select Skyrim Beta.
6. Select OK.

After Steam restarts The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will be updated to the 1.4 beta version. To opt out of the beta program simply run the following steps:

1. Log into Steam
2. Click on Steam in the upper menu
3. Select Settings
4. Under the Account tab, go to the Beta Participation section and select Change.
5. A drop down menu will appear. select NONE
6. Select OK.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will automatically update itself back to the latest released version (1.3 and 1.3.10).

To provide feedback on the beta update, use the beta forum.

With the PSVita being released in Europe next month you now have the chance to win this new portable gaming device from Sony. It’s free and new who wouldn’t want to heave one? Read on below as quoted from the blog.

PlayStation Vita sweeps into Europe in February 2012 to redefine gaming on the go. Thanks to a stunning OLED screen and revolutionary gaming controls, PS Vita is the ultimate portable gaming experience.
 
Sign up to Inside PS Vita now and you could be in with a chance of winning a PS Vita 3G/Wi-Fi model along with seven fantastic games.
 
By signing up to Inside PS Vita, you’ll receive all the latest updates and developments ahead of the PS Vita system’s launch on 22 February 2012.
 
Uncharted: Golden Abyss
Uncover a full Uncharted adventure enhanced by intuitive PS Vita controls as Nathan Drake sets out in pursuit of a lost city of gold.
 
ModNation Racers: Road Trip
Use cool touchscreen controls to create and share racetracks, Mods and karts and then race against up to three friends
 
Everybody’s Golf
Hit the course as everybody’s favourite golf series comes to the fore on PS Vita and enjoy epic online golf with cool LiveArea social features
 
WipEout 2048
Rip through the streets of Nova State City and take part in cross-platform play with PlayStation 3 WipEout players.
 
Unit 13
Infiltrate some of the most challenging war zones with pinpoint precision using the PS Vita system’s dual analog sticks.
 
Little Deviants
The Little Deviants are here and it’s up to you to save them on PS Vita.
 
Reality Fighters
Fight as yourself anywhere and any time on PS Vita.
 
Visit eu.playstation.com/psvita to sign up to Inside PS Vita now – the best way to prepare for the handheld gaming revolution.
 
Make sure you check out the competition terms and conditions before entering this competition.

This latest update gives the Toronto Raptors a new 3-D court logo. Give it a “Like” on Facebook if you think all courts should use this technology.

Ubisoft Blue Byte has changed the DRM protection of Anno 2070. You should now be able to change your GFX card as many times as you want.

“Just wanted to let you know, that we now remove the graphics hardware from the hash used to identify the PC. That means everyone should now be able to switch the GFX as many times as he/she wants.”

It still uses DRM protection but the DRM doesn’t check the GFX card anymore. DRM has been under fire since it’s introduction, allot of PC gamer’s see it as a plague or even the downfall of PC gaming all together.

The demo is a Steam exclusive so be sure you have Steam installed.

You can grab the almost 3GB demo directly with this link Download Demo. (neat eh?). “Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning” is said to be an more user friendly and fast passed RPG which comes down to it’s a game developed for the consoles and not the PC.

I missed the release on the 17th as it was my Birthday but be sure to play the demo to unlock the Mass Effect 3 “close-combat focused Reckoner Knight Armor” and “Chakram Launcher with explosive ammunition discs”.